Securing storage and transfer of items is a top priority for sensitive, expensive, or hard to replace equipment. Keeping such items in relatively unsecured areas may unfortunately result in equipment loss, either through inadvertent misplacement or actual theft.
At a basic level, logs can be kept to record the movement of important equipment. For example, someone taking or moving the equipment is required to sign the log or make a log entry to indicate who has taken the equipment. Personnel can be used to monitor such a log and to ensure that it is signed when equipment is taken. The personnel monitoring the log can also ensure that the log signer has accurately identified himself or herself in the log. This, however, requires the expense of having personnel present to monitor the log.
On the other hand, if the log is not monitored, it becomes easy for those taking equipment to either falsify the log or simply not make an entry at all when equipment is removed. A false entry can be made that either incorrectly identifies the equipment taken or incorrectly identifies the person taking the equipment. Alternatively, if no personnel are enforcing the use of the log, equipment can simply be taken without any entry in the log being made.
A person removing equipment without making a log entry may be intending to steal the equipment or may simply intend to use and return the equipment, not wanting to be bothered with making a log entry. In the latter case, even though the borrower does not intend to steal the equipment, the equipment may still be damaged, forgotten or loaned to another worker without any record of where it has gone.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements.